Traveling during spring can be challenging. There are often dramatic shifts in weather, alternating balmy, sunlit skies with freezing snow flurries, not to mention that there is usually a lot of rain. But the rain brings about things that make travel worth it for a foodie, like the first crops of the year for many varieties of seasonal fruits and vegetables. Eating well prepared, seasonal specialties is a treat, especially when so many restaurants serve supermarket fare.

While some restaurants will add a seasonal special or two to their menus, there are a handful of restaurants that specialize in specials. These seasonal restaurants are open for only a few weeks each year. They're not open during the summer tourist season, only when their special ingredients are at their peak in the spring. They can be hard to find, usually known only to the locals in the area, but according to the New York Times, it's worth tracking them down.

Apart from food festivals, which are often put together by a whole town in celebration of a particular food, some farmers will open their kitchens and serve up some good food. Sugaring farms seem to be good places to find these seasonal restaurants. Some sugar huts or farms began selling pancakes decades ago, when farmers tried to encourage buyers for their product to come to them, instead of traveling around. Places like Cartwright's Maple Tree Inn in Angelica, NY are only open from February to mid-April, selling their syrup with delicious pancakes and The Cyprus Grill, in Jamesville, NC serves fresh herring from January through April.

These restaurants are, by and large, not designed to support the farmers/producers throughout the year, unlike restaurants in tourist towns that open during the summer months. They want to make money, of course, but they also want to foster an appreciation for a food that they love and an ingredient at its peak.

A list of Culinary Festivals and events, where seasonal specialties can be found easily, is available here.